Some people don't consider the Ballon d'Or a big deal, but Sid Lowe explains why Luka Modric winning the prize will resonate in Spain.

For the first time in a decade, the Ballon d'Or was not won by either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, the twin giants of the modern footballing epoch.

While Ronaldo finished runner-up, Messi was not even included in the final three for the first time since 2006 and neither player -- nor fellow global icon Neymar -- was in attendance in Paris to see Luka Modric being bestowed with the prestigious award at the ever-gaudy gala evening.

But what were they up to instead?

Neymar, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo made their own plans during the 2018 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Lionel Messi

Roughly 10 minutes after Modric was announced as Ballon d'Or winner, Messi posted on his Instagram story -- not to congratulate his contemporary on a splendid year -- but to share a captionless photo of himself at home with his kids, Thiago and Mateo.

Cristiano Ronaldo

On the other hand, Ronaldo sat back and remained silent as his family and friends did all the talking on the Juventus man's behalf. Speaking before the ceremony, Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini was positively gushing with praise as he did his best to talk his teammate up.

"Our self-confidence has grown and Cristiano is the cherry on top," Chiellini rhapsodised. "Cristiano improves us on a day-to-day basis and he works in an incredible way, which we had been lacking, and he's an example.

"He's giving us what [Andrea] Pirlo gave us domestically back in 2011, whereas Cristiano's giving us that edge in Europe. He's different -- he improves those around him.

"There are these world class players who make all of those around him play well and Ronaldo is one of these. He's also filled the void that [Gianluigi] Buffon left in terms of his personality."

Ronaldo's sister, Katia Aveiro, took to Instagram to post a photo of her brother's 2017 Ballon d'Or win accompanied with a spiky message that read: "Best in player in the world...for those who know football, that is."

Meanwhile, Ronaldo's other sister, Elma Aveiro, was even more critical of the Portuguese star's snub, posting a similar photo on Instagram along with a diatribe that encompassed talk of a "world full of rot," the influence of the mafia and the destructive nature of money and greed.

"The power of God is bigger than all that rot," she wrote. "God takes his time but doesn't fail."

Elsewhere on social media, the Portuguese Football Federation made a point of saluting the player they believe to still be the best in the world -- well they would say that, wouldn't they?

Miguel Paixao, a close friend of Ronaldo, maintained the party line by accusing France Football of a "huge lack of respect" in steadfastly denying his pal the chance to win a sixth Ballon d'Or.

"The truth is that nobody scored more goals in the 2017-18 campaign than Cristiano Ronaldo, with 54 official goals," Paixao moaned. "He was the best goal scorer in the Champions League for the sixth consecutive year with 15 goals.

"He won the Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, the European Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup. He scored a hat trick against Spain at the World Cup.

"Among all the candidates for the Ballon d'Or award, nobody has had a more impressive start to the season with goals, assists and great performances than him. Against these facts there are no arguments."

Neymar

Among all this conjecture and opprobrium, you may well be wondering what became of Neymar on Ballon d'Or night.

Having washed up way down in 12th in the official award poll, the Brazilian also chose to give the gala a wide berth despite it taking place in the very city in which he lives.

While Paris Saint-Germain strike partner Kylian Mbappe at least showed his face at the Grand Palais -- and claimed the Raymond Kopa Trophy for best under-21 player -- Neymar instead stayed home and played video games.